


Of Sea & Starlight

by stelian



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Gen, Kanej if you squint, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 19:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15126401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelian/pseuds/stelian
Summary: When Kaz explained the mission to her, he'd described a deep-sea fish whose scales could reverse the harmful, out of control magic that was razing the streets of Ketterdam. No one had expected to findthis, a half-dead, half-Siren Shu floating in the depths of a ship.





	Of Sea & Starlight

**_then_ **

 

Some may say this story begins when a young boy jumped off of a sinking plague ship, marooned in a harbor where it was never quite welcome.

Some may say it begins with a deal between the desperate parents of a daughter born into a dying society and a deep-sea god beyond comprehension.

Some may say it begins when a lonely, frightened student wandered into a hostile gambling hall.

Some may say it begins when a hunter slays his first mermaid and holds the corpse above his head as a signal of victory.

Some may say it begins when a tidal wave engulfs a brothel, leaving one young girl alive in the wreckage.

Some may say it begins with a boy and his father, cornered by those who could never understand, throwing their arms up in surrender.

Or, finally, some may say it begins with a forgotten son falling - being pushed - jumping off of the side of a plague ship.

Regardless, all would agree that it starts when a rich businessman drops a coin into Ketterdam harbor at precisely 1:21 in the morning and is pleasantly surprised when the legends are true.

 

When Inej Ghafa was a young girl, her parents warned her never to befriend the  ocean.

She would sit by the river, stirring sediment with a stick and searching for the little fish that would dart between rocks while her mother would call for her, telling her of the dangers. Floods. Fish that were thrice her size and with enough teeth to tear her apart without even trying. Sirens that would lure her into the depths with their magics. Rains that would pour for months until the ocean became everything. Slavers who combed the shores for unsuspecting girls playing in the sand. After a list of the many ways she’d surely die on the ocean Inej would let herself be ushered inside to practice her routine or sit on the floor while Mama told a story or Papa brushed her hair into a smooth plait.

But still she dreamed of the sea, of waves that stretched out to eternity, of the premise of it being just her, a ship, and an ocean of endless stars above her head.

When Inej Ghafa was thirteen years old the ocean swallowed her whole (or, rather; the slavers who had once made friends with the ocean swallowed her whole).

When Inej Ghafa was fifteen years old, the ocean saved her life.

And when Inej Ghafa was sixteen years old, she befriended the wind, who was created by the ocean, and she took to the sea and never looked back.

“I have a request to ask of you,” he said one day, little more than a black smudge in the smoky air. “It’s a difficult mission, but… let’s say, for a charitable cause.”

He wove her a story of dark magic, of a missing scientist, of a fish whose scales could cancel out the illegal amplifiers, of a long journey to save Ketterdam. She agreed, of course, and the inhuman part of Kaz that was somewhere beyond comprehension flared.

* * *

**_now_ **

 

Inej wanted to vomit.

_It’s just a primitive, deep-sea fish. Poor thing doesn’t even know how it’s being exploited. I can use it for good, you know. All I need is a bit of study and I can remedy all of that dark magic out there because of it._

The smell should have been a clue; as they descended into the underbelly of the ship a strong smell of rot and damp, stale air. She thought of how, when they attacked, all of the crew was gathered on the upper decks even though the weather was poor and it was night time. She thought of the sailor she threw overboard gasping out, “You take that thing. It’s cursed,” when she held her knife to his throat.

It wasn’t a deep-sea creature blissfully non-sapient. Their target was a mer, just younger than Wylan, floating motionless in a clouded, filthy tank.  

Matthias was the only one bold enough to approach it- _them_ , she corrected; wild mer were notoriously androgynous and this one was so dirty and emaciated it was hard to distinguish anything from its appearance- and the way he stared clinically at the lifeless figure was heartbreaking.

“It was harpooned,” he said, pointing at the gaping wound in their side, just before the beginning of the tail, “Not deeply, but it was still pretty nasty. Wound looks old by now. Do you see those light regions at the bottom of the tail? I think some scales were already removed. And look at its back- some spines were ripped off. I guess this thing really was powerful.”

“It’s not dead,” Kaz said, materializing against a wall. He was even less corporeal than usual; his skin was diaphanous and his presence only stirred the air the slightest amount. Inej was reminded of a rapidly deflating balloon; it was only a matter of time before Ghezen’s gift wore off and the remnants of him scattered with the winds keeping him alive.

Matthias didn’t bother to turn around to face him. “It’s dead. I’ve... seen these wounds before. Mer don’t last long with these injuries- it’s a fact. Plus, an open wound in that water would’ve become infected quickly. It didn’t stand a chance the moment it was captured.” His voice was flat, detached. Inej made a note to tell Nina about the way he spoke of this one.

“Sorry Kaz. I’ve got to side with Matthias on this one. It’s dead,” Jesper said, wiping a slight smear of blood from his favorite rifle before tucking it back into its holster.

“Can we- can we stop referring to them as a thing?” Inej said, pulling herself out of the stunned silence she’d been trapped in. “Even if they’re dead. They were a _child_ , a sapient creature, and now…”

Inej didn’t want to think about being so deep in the hold of a ship she thought she’d never see the sky again. She _chose_ not to think of this child dying with its fins compressed awkwardly in a tank that was never meant to hold such a creature.

“Fine, but they’re still not dead,” Kaz said, and then he vanished with a slight stirring of air. Just as soon as Kaz’s crow reappeared on her shoulder, there was a sudden movement in the tank.

At first, Inej couldn’t make out more than a slight movement of water, as if a small current suddenly came into existence. Then it was a faint shift of spines, subtle enough to just be a trick of the light.

And then the crow on her shoulder fluffed its wings the slightest bit, tilted its head, and spoke a word or so in a guttural rasp, and the mer’s eyes snapped open.

Deep brown, like the polished wood of the _Wraith_ against the morning sun. Dull, hazy, but despite all odds, _alive._ Immediately their mouth moved, rapidly forming words that were impossible to make out.

Inej and Jesper ran to the tank, crowding out Matthias in order to stare at the mer’s face. They looked even younger with their eyes open, face drawn in confusion with a hint of fear. Those eyes darted between the three faces staring up at them as if unable to tell which was more of a threat.

Kaz’s voice spoke again with a shift in the air, still speaking in that guttural tongue but slightly longer this time. Inej looked at his crow, still perched on her shoulder, and almost started to yell at it that she _didn’t know what he was saying_ when, beside her, Jesper said, “They’re part siren. Oh, God. They’re part siren.”

He’d already shrugged out of his jacket and kicked off his shoes before Inej or Matthias could ask any questions. By the time they could shout a warning, Jesper had already climbed a stack of barrels and slid into the tank.

There wasn’t room for the two of them, not really; not with the spines jutting from the mer’s back and arms and the long tail already twice coiled around itself. But Jesper pressed at close as possible, placed a hand on their shoulder, and spoke something. When the mer didn’t respond, he turned to Inej and Matthias and pantomimed covering his ears.

Seconds later, Jesper’s eyes glowed. Kuwei’s gaze, for once, settled on his face. And then, after what felt like hours, he moved his mouth again.

Jesper smiled.

 

“His name is Kuwei Yul-Bo. He’s a Shu; half-siren. And he knew why we were after him.”

The storm from earlier had finally cleared out, and Inej found herself lying on the deck staring up at the constellations she’d first mapped years ago. It was funny, how serene the night was compared to the day they’d just had.

“I thought most of the siren-Shu were extinct. That’s where our whole problem came from.” Matthias’s voice sounded funny, far-away even though he sat next to Inej. After they’d changed the water in Kuwei’s tank Matthias had stood there, staring at the harpoon wound that was no doubt identical to many that he had caused. Perhaps he was still reeling.

Jesper kicked his legs into the side of the ship as he spoke again, “You’re not wrong. They used to be hunted because of their magic, but he… okay, I don’t know how much of this is accurate. He’s a little delirious. But he said his father came up with some sort of synthetic charm that acted the same as actual, you know, parts. So a lot of siren-Shu stuff you see is actually fake now, but that’s why it’s so unpredictable. I mean, siren magic is _hard_ ; you can’t just use it without training. That, and the Shu affinity for magic… it was destined to happen. And the fake version is stronger.”

“What did they want him for?” Nina said from the water, her voice icy. She’d been outraged when Inej told her of the cramped tank, the snapped fins and the malnourished body (of course, this was all described _after_ Inej finished retching over the side of her ship). Her voice still shook, from anger or from despair, even while Wylan clung to her arm as a sort of comfort.

It took Jesper a moment to respond. He clenched his eyes shut, shook his head in short motions, and sharply inhaled before he let out, “To find out how to reverse the effects, of course.”

 

_A full inventory of Kuwei’s injuries, as reported by Jesper Fahey with assistance from Matthias Helvar:_

  * __Harpoon wound, right side; just a few centimeters above the beginning of the tail. Old. Infected.__


  * _Several minor fractures in left arm, semi-healed. Shoulder is dislocated and was never returned to socket._


  * _Potential cracked ribs._


  * _At least 4 spines snapped off, as evidenced by bases still lodged in skin. Others may have been fully removed._


  * _Torn left pelvic fin._


  * _Several areas where scales were once removed but have grown back. Very old; now recovered._


  * _Unknown damage to tail; muscles feel stiff and reject manipulation. Potentially due to cramped space and lack of exercise. Swimming likely impossible until healed._



 

“I don’t know what to do with him,” Inej said. Nina’s tail flicked rapidly in response, a tell reserved for when she was nervous. Beside her, Wylan sat still, chin propped on a rock. “He only talks to Jesper. I mean, he only _can_ talk to Jesper, but still - the moment any of us enter the room, he goes silent.”

“He’s scared,” Nina said, her voice small. “We’re creatures of the open sea - we were never meant to live in a tank.” She _shook_ , for a moment - fearless Nina, who treated harpoon wounds on sharks while they gnashed their teeth at her - and all Inej could think of were the pet mer that the rich sometimes kept, given tanks barely large enough to stretch out or left to live in ponds where they slowly starved to death.

Nina had held him, when they changed the water in the tank. No one had wanted to put him back in there, but they had no choice. Kuwei was too weak and too injured to swim, and it just wasn’t feasible for Nina and Wylan to carry him.

“What _are_ you going to do with him?” Kaz asked, appearing beside Inej with barely a hint of wind. He was solid, for once, his pale skin nearly reflecting the sunlight. He’d been quiet for days, ever since he’d been the one to light fire to Pekka Rollins’s ship after they’d taken Kuwei and any necessary supplies. “Well, Wylan?”

Wylan tilted his head to the side, a mimic of the face Kaz made when was thinking particularly hard. “Have you figured out the last part of my plan?” Inej glanced over at Kaz and he was _grinning._

What had she missed between those two?

“Okay, someone fill me in, please?” Nina asked, sharing Inej’s confusion. “What exactly is the plan?”

When Kaz spoke, his eyes were like the depths of the ocean, something not-quite-human and dangerous lurking in his voice. It was times like these when it was hard to remember that, once, he’d been a scared boy who fell off the side of a plague ship before he was spread over the winds.

“We take him back to Van Eck, of course. He’ll never see what’s coming.”

* * *

_**later** _

 

“You thought I was dead.”

“Stop moving or I won’t be able to get your braid straight. And yes, we did. You weren’t moving and, no offense, you looked like shit. Plus when I jumped in your tank you told me we should probably kill you, so, you know. It wasn’t a good time.”

“... You jumped in my tank?”

“Yeah, right when we found you. Don’t you remember?”

“Jesper, that tank was _tiny_. I’d remember if you were in there with me.”

“I had to strip off a bunch of layers. I grabbed your shoulder the whole time.”

“... Why does this have to be the _one_ thing I can’t remember.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of a larger au that I planned for a long time but never quite figured out how to write. I've edited in some of the details that may have been missing, but if you have any questions just let me know!
> 
> Parts of this were inspired by [Song of the Sea by Cake Bake Betty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-NytsxGVUI&t=0s&list=PL_ACo93c7tJfkeL1HIKB5D2swwrcYNDg8&index=16) so I'd highly recommend a listen.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!! Feel free to yell with me about gay murder children on [the tumblr!](http://pippims.tumblr.com)


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